Blame it on Bath by Caroline Linden

Narrated by Gildart Jackson

Blame It on Bath is the second book in Ms Linden’s The Truth About the Duke series, which features the three sons of the late Duke of Durham. On his deathbed, the duke tells his two youngest sons – Edward and Gerard – that he had been blackmailed because someone had discovered a marriage that predated his marriage to their mother, and that there is a chance that they are all illegitimate.

Each book in the series follows one of the brothers as he makes the attempt, in his own way, to discover the truth. The first book, One Night in London, follows Edward, the middle brother, and in this one Gerard (the youngest) – more of a man of action than his brother and perhaps rather more impatient – formulates his own plan to track down the blackmailer.

Captain Gerard de Lacy is on leave from his army post, and intends to begin his search in Bath, as that’s where most of the blackmail letters appear to have been posted. Before he can leave London, however, he is visited late at night by an unremarkable looking woman who introduces herself as Lady Katherine Howe. Gerard has no idea who she is or what she could possibly want – and is astonished when she tells him that she is in possession of a fortune of eighty thousand pounds and then proposes marriage.

She explains that she needs to remarry quickly as her late husband’s nephew is intent on wedding her himself in order to pay off his debts and to gain control of the money – and that having read of the “Durham Dilemma” in the papers, had reasoned that Gerard, a third son who has had to make his own way in the world, would be amenable to such an arrangement.

In fact, Katherine isn’t far off the mark. Gerard had indeed intended to find himself a rich wife, as in the event he and his brothers are disinherited he will be left with a small estate and very little to live on. While he is used to the privations of army life, he does not intend to spend the rest of his life in comparative poverty. He listens to Katherine’s proposal and promises her an answer in three days’ time.

What Gerard doesn’t remember is that he and Katherine have met, once, a long time ago. Aged around sixteen, he’d been out riding and had come across a young woman trudging along in the pouring rain. Rather than leave her, he’d taken her up in front of him and taken her home. This act of kindness and consideration meant a lot to Katherine, who had never known either of those things, and she’d fallen in love with him on the spot. He was, she says rather poignantly later, the first man ever to put his arms around her willingly.

Eager to get started on his quest to find the blackmailer, and sensing there might be more to Katherine than her drab gowns and self-effacing attitude would suggest, Gerard decides he might as well accept her proposal – but makes it very clear to her that he wants a real marriage. Love isn’t a requirement, but affection and respect certainly are, and given he’d like children, he expects to share her bed on occasion. Surprised at that last – protesting that at thirty, she’s too old to have children – Katherine nonetheless agrees, and the couple is married the following day.

The marriage-of-convenience trope is quite possibly my favourite one of all when it comes to historical romance, and this is an excellent example. Gerard is a terrific hero – handsome and charming (of course!), loyal and best of all, incredibly considerate of his new wife.

Katherine’s life, while certainly not one of material hardship, has been difficult in other ways. Her mother is a very beautiful woman who so dislikes competition from any quarter that she convinced her daughter that she was plain and unattractive, insisting she was best suited by dark, drab colours and severe hairstyles, and who, instead of launching Katherine into a London Season, married her off to a dour, middle-aged viscount who rarely left his estate. She’s never asked for anything for herself, knowing she was unlikely to receive it – so seeking out Gerard and asking him to marry her is an incredibly bold thing for her to have done.

What makes this more than a “simple” marriage-of-convenience-turns-to-love story is the way in which Katherine comes into her own once she’s married to Gerard. Even though he’s a man who has never really given much thought to love when it comes to women – his mother died when he was very young, so the idea of actually sharing thoughts and emotions is rather alien to him – his care for Katherine shines through in his every action, and his obvious affection for her helps her to gain the confidence to be herself and to finally stand up to her manipulative mother. There are a few bumps along their road to happiness, of course, because Gerard, being a man, thinks he’s got it all – a great sex life and financial security – and it takes him a while to realise that perhaps there’s a little more to marriage.

I really enjoyed Gildart Jackson’s narration of the first book in this series, and he doesn’t disappoint here. He has a gorgeous voice, a deep baritone which he uses to knee-weakening effect in the love scenes – seriously, you’ll need a fan and the smelling-salts! – and his portrayals of both Gerard and Charlie (the eldest brother) are consistent with the way they sounded in the previous book. If I have a complaint, it’s that Gerard sometimes sounds a little too sharp and nasally, but for the most part, Mr Jackson captures the essence of him very well – authoritative, a bit impetuous with something of a temper on him, but never unkind or cruel, and sexy enough to melt earbuds! I was very pleased to hear that his portrayal of the heroine has improved since the last book, and rather than sounding a bit like a middle-aged dowager, Katherine sounds as she should, a young woman full of intelligence and spirit. All the secondary characters are equally well realised, from the oily, grasping Nollworth to Katherine’s conniving mother, and his rendition of the sanctimonious Lucien Howe is utterly perfect.

Minor quibbles aside, this is a very accomplished and enjoyable performance and I’ve already purchased the third and final book in the series on the strength of what I’ve heard so far. And “powers that be” at Tantor Audio – if you’re reading/listening, please give Mr Jackson some more historicals to narrate. There’s a dearth of really good male narrators in the genre and he’s a more than welcome addition to what is a very small club!

N.B.: The “Durham Dilemma” isn’t resolved in this book – listeners will have to wait until book three for the truth to be revealed!

Caz

Narration: B+

Book Content: A-

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence: None

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Tantor Audio